Realms of Darkness
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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Realms of Darkness combines traditional RPG gameplay (party, stats, and combat system) with some elements borrowed from text adventures.

Assemble a party of one to eight characters and go on quests to gain power and riches and magical items by defeating monsters. The game consists of many scenarios, each requiring several hours of playing to be completed. Move around in the realms using your keyboard or joystick or both. Travel and explore cities, dungeons, caverns and other types of dwellings. and talk to city inhabitants.

Creating characters requires that you determine their traits and abilities which are defined as six attributes: Wisdom, Intelligence, Agility, Strength, Vitality and Luck. Choose their profession or class. Your choices are Fighter, Sorcerer, Priest, Thief, Champion, Knight, Barbarian or Friar. Finally, decide what race they will be, Gnome, Dwarf, Elf or Human. Once that is done, choose the sex and type your characters name. Once you have assembled your party, your adventure can begin.

Certain situations require the player to type very detailed, context-specific commands (such as for example "shout") in order to solve a puzzle or otherwise advance in the game. This feature gives Realms of Darkness a flavor of an adventure game. The player can also split the party in two and control both while exploring different locations.

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Description from the packaging:

Prepare to embark on magical adventures rich in diversity and danger...
You are entering the Realms of Darkness.
Fame, fortune, and power. These are the spoils of victory awaiting those smart and strong enough to survive this incredibly challenging and multi-faceted fantasy adventure game.
Recruit up to eight courageous companions to help you explore an immense and highly detailed magical world. Guide them as they travel across wilderness, cities, and thirty levels of underground dungeons, all teeming with powerful wizards, mighty heroes, menacing monsters, and of course, shimmering treasures.

Your band must fulfill seven different quests, each more perilous - and potentially more rewarding - than the one before. Brawn may conquer the monstrous hoards, but only brains can solve the increasingly elaborate and difficult puzzles that block your path to ultimate glory.
You can split up your party into as many as eight different sub-groups. You're free to switch back and forth among these sub-groups, remaining with any one of them as long as you want!
Although this is a complex game, considering the sheer size of the world and its labyrinthine catacombs, it is extremely easy to play. By using either the keyboard or joystick, you can effortlessly switch between a menu-driven fantasy game or text adventure game. In the latter mode, you can "talk" in simple sentences, interact with people and objects and solve puzzles.

For the novice adventurer, a tutorial is included on the disk that takes you step by step through a sample game. You'll be amazed at how fast you're in a real game!
Assemble a party of one to eight characters, choosing from 8 classes and 4 races.
Explore the wilderness, shops, cities and over 30 dungeon levels.
Gain experience and obtain magical items and riches from battling monsters.
Enter the adventure mode to solve elaborate puzzles and actually talk to inhabitants.
Split your party into smaller groups and explore with them separately.
Manual includes a tutorial for beginning adventurers that lets you start playing quickly.
Realms of Darkness was designed by Gary Smith and Duong Nghiem.

Playing time: 150+ hours.
Intermediate level.


http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/realms-of-darkness
